Looking for the next Rickey Henderson? Nobody in baseball is. They gave up long ago. Henderson, baseball's all-time stolen base and runs scored leader and unmatched leadoff hitter, enters the Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday. He will give an acceptance speech that even he can't predict. Will it be prepared or off the cuff? In first person or, as Rickey often spoke to teammates and reporters, third person?

San Diego Padres first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and his wife, Betsy, are arm in arm, strolling through the lobby of Phoenix's Ritz Carlton on a recent trip. They sit down, side by side, and share a plate of fruit. They talk. They laugh. They kiss.

Khalil Greene endured such agony playing the game he loved, he had to get away from it.Dontrelle Willis lost control to such an extent, his team put him on the disabled list twice.Joey Votto found solace from his pain in baseball but was miserable elsewhere.

Adrian Gonzalez has made a rare admission for a power hitter: He actually tries to go deep on the road, hoping to make up for the potential home runs that die in outfielders' gloves in San Diego's hitters graveyard, also known as Petco Park.

Closing the deal on a closer doesn't always get you closer to contention. That seems to be one of the early lessons of this season, as some of the clubs that added established ninth-inning stoppers have struggled, while others that promoted from within are thriving.